-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Five people in southern China have been charged with intentional injury after illegally buying one of the kidneys of a teenage boy , who used the money at least in part for an iPhone and an iPad , according to state media .

The five , including a surgeon , removed the organ in April 2011 from the 17-year-old high school student from China 's Anhui province . The teenager is now suffering from renal insufficiency , Xinhua reported .

The boy 's condition is deteriorating , it said .

One of the defendants , a man named He Wei , was described as `` penniless and frustrated over gambling debts '' and allegedly `` sought to make enormous earnings through illegal kidney trading , '' the news agency reported .

It said the men identified donors through online chat rooms and conducted the operation at a hospital .

A man named Song Zhongyu , a surgeon from a provincial hospital in Yunnan province , received nearly $ 35,000 in the deal , while the boy was given about $ 3,500 , Xinhua said .

Wang later confessed to his mother when she confronted him about where he got the money for the Apple products , the news agency said .

According to China 's Ministry of Health , about 1.5 million people in the country are in need of transplants , and yet only 10,000 transplants are performed each year , Xinhua reported .

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A surgeon removed the organ in April 2011 from a high school student , Xinhua says

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The boy is now suffering from renal insufficiency , it says

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The surgeon , from a provincial hospital , received nearly $ 35,000 in the deal , it says

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The boy was given about $ 3,500 , the news agency reports